Published November 3, 2025
What do developers think of building under Austin's HOME Ordinance?
Off a quiet road in South Austin, a homebuilder is trying something new to bring more and less expensive housing to the city.
Ash Creek Homes is using the city's Home Options for Mobility and Equity Ordinance — known as the HOME Ordinance — to build 28 detached homes on a 2.4-acre property with 10 residential lots. The location is on Drew Lane near the intersection of Slaughter Lane and Menchaca Road.
The goal of the project is to see if building a mid-sized housing development under Austin’s HOME Ordinance will result in more homes at cheaper prices, said Jenna Edge, president of Ash Creek Homes. She said the company bought the property before the HOME ordinance was approved, with the hope of using the ordinance to build more homes at the site.
“I'm very proud to say that this project is under the HOME Ordinance, and that it can be like a showcase project for the city,” Edge said. “For the city to say, ‘Look, this works. Since this builder was going to be building duplexes in the ($600,000 to $700,000 range), and now they're building detached houses in the four hundreds."
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Ash Creek plans to sell the 28 homes, all of which will have two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, in the $400,000 price range. Edge said the HOME ordinance is probably cutting $200,000 off the prices of the homes on the property. That's because Ash Creek still would have built about 20 homes on it if the HOME Ordinance hadn't been approved — but they likely would have been in the $600,000 range.
What is the HOME Ordinance?
The HOME Ordinance updated the city's building regulations to encourage construction of more and smaller homes, thus making them less expensive and helping to alleviate Austin's housing affordability crisis. The ordinance was passed by the City Council in two phases.
The first phase was approved in December 2023 and enabled builders to build three units on a single residential lot, while the second phase was approved in May 2024 and allowed for a reduction in minimum lot sizes to 1,800 square feet and a single residential unit to be built on them.
The city has reviewed 571 building applications proposing to build a total of 892 units under the first phase of the HOME Ordinance. Of those applications, 448 have been approved, according to the city. Under the second phase of ordinance, 25 applications proposing 25 units have been filed, with 21 of the applications approved so far.
Ash Creek is using the first phase of the HOME Ordinance to build its 28 homes on Drew Lane.
Where do the savings come from?
The main savings that the HOME Ordinance has provided Ash Creek has come in the form of land costs, Edge said.
“The value of one lot, instead of dividing it across two homes, you're dividing it across three,” she said. “So there's huge savings there.”
Other builders agree. Carr Residential, which focuses mainly on building projects on single lots, also said the HOME ordinance has made it easier to sell homes at lower prices.
